In a provocative speech in the upper house on Monday, Independent Senators Group (ISG) Leader Sen. Yuen Pau Woo said Canada should avoid criticizing China for its human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims because our country has mistreated Indigenous peoples.
Echoing an argument made by Chinese officials at the UN last week, Woo said China’s policy toward the Muslim minority in Xinjiang province is similar to the colonialism directed at Indigenous peoples in this country, and that condemning the Asian country in harsh terms would be hypocritical and “simply an exercise in labelling.”
